Fresh off the back of a landmark Q2 partnership, Gamban is proceeding full steam ahead towards SBC’s inaugural Safer Gambling Forum, which forms part of the CasinoBeats Summit at Betting at Sports.

Introduced to reflect the growing importance of tackling problem gambling, the forum has been developed to provide a platform for industry leaders to discuss all elements of problem gambling, from the political to the practical.

Gamban, which provides software for blocking gambling websites and applications to help prevent such related harm, penned an extended partnership with Kindred Group in June, related to the firm’s Unibet entity.

This saw the operator become the first in the UK to integrate Gamban’s blocking software as it was stated: “We are strong advocates for education around responsible gambling and ensuring all of our customers are able to make an informed choice”.

Jack Symons, Gamban CEO, who is set to speak at the SGF on a panel entitled ‘Identifying and Interacting with Problem Gamblers,’ said of the partnership: “Unibet are the first to align with Gamban in a way that grants a user blocking software for a duration that mirrors their selected self-exclusion period. So if a user self-excluded for a year with Unibet then they’re offered Gamban for a year, as an optional final step in the self-exclusion process.”

Before giving an insight into the upcoming discussion and how identification of problem gambling can be translated to effective outreach to customers who may not want to accept it: “The important thing is to ensure that when a customer wants to take positive action to stop gambling, that all the tools that will prevent access to sites and apps are available to them immediately.

“The more barriers a person puts in place, the less likely they will circumvent their self-imposed cessation”

“We recommend downloading Gamban, signing up to GamStop and switching to a bank account that blocks gambling transactions.

“The more barriers a person puts in place, the less likely they will circumvent their self-imposed cessation, and the more likely they will benefit from treatment.”

Symons’ participation at the forum is alongside David Caruana, responsible gaming manager at Kindred, Jon Duffy, director of corporate assurance and regulatory affairs at Genting UK and Zoe Osmond, campaign advisor at GambleAware, alongside James Bennett, director at Square in the Air, as moderator.

Chaired by Graham Weir, founder and CEO at Safer Gambling Solutions, the SGF features five panel sessions following an initial ‘Leadership in Safer Gambling’ session.

Regarding his own participation and hopes for the event, Symons stated: “The Safer Gambling Forum is very important to Betting on Sports, as the reputation of the remote gambling sector is declining rapidly. It is essential that the industry recognises that its current business model — of over-reliance on gross revenue from gambling addicts — is neither sustainable in the long term commercially, nor politically.”

Adding: “We are hoping to meet with remote operators willing to align with us, and to showcase the new versions of our software launched this month — updates that are even more difficult for our users to circumvent. We will continue to invest in our product to stay ahead of technological changes and a rapidly evolving industry.”

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